1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to article carriers. In particular, the present invention relates to a belt-worn lower abdominal pouch that provides for the user, secure, comfortable and ergonomic access to the contents of the pouch.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Article carriers have been designed for carrying valuable objects such as money, keys, identification, credit cards, passports, and the like. Typically, these items are carried in either a purse suspended from a shoulder or in a wallet placed in a pant pocket. However, wallets and purses are extremely vulnerable to theft. They can also become cumbersome to the user who needs to retrieve an item quickly. Pouches that are suspended from shoulders must be constantly monitored and adjusted to keep them in place. As the user walks, the pouch swings away from the body and eventually pulls the strap off the shoulder. Because of this, the freedom of the user's hands is greatly reduced and the ability to walk or run is hampered.
Several article carriers have been designed for carrying an array of personal items. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,998,653 discloses a body-attachable concealable pouch. The invention includes a belt that slides through back channels of the pouch and secures in the back of the person. However, by securing the pouch behind the user, this invention also becomes vulnerable to theft.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,209,769 discloses a side pack that includes 2 loops that allow the pack to suspend from the user's belt. However, over time, the weight of the objects contained in the pouch would weaken the loops. Therefore, the claim of security is reduced. In addition, because the side pack suspends in a vertical position, the claim of comfort is also reduced. When walking, the side pack would swing away from the body. For each outward swing, there would be a return collision. These continual collisions with the side pack are annoyances and has a negative affect upon the user's ability to walk or run while wearing the side pack. Finally, the contents of the main compartment are not held securely since the opening is only partially covered by a closing flap.
In addition, when traveling, especially overseas, it is beneficial to minimize weight of a purse, but have the purse large enough to carry a passport, hotel keys, frequently of the flat electronic card activated type, a health insurance card, a few world-recognized credit cards and local currency.
It is also beneficial to carry the pouch in an anatomically convenient position in the lower front torso area, thereby minimizing theft from sly and quick pickpocketers, who can easily and unobtrusively access rear or side mounted pouches, even if worn on a belt.
However, the lower front torso area has size and anatomical limitations, which limit the size of a pouch worn thereat. For example, when a person is seated with the thighs extending horizontally to form a lap upon the two thighs, there is a very limited area at which to comfortably wear a pouch, without having the pouch uncomfortably encroach upon the pelvic joint at a lower end thereof, or upon the lower abdominal area below the navel, at an upper end thereof, especially if the wearer, typically male, has a protruding fatty deposit area colloquially referred to as a “beer belly”, which puts an upper limit where a pouch can be comfortably placed.
Therefore, for an average adult, from the waist area where a belt is usually worn, to the front pelvic joint between the generally vertically extending lower abdominal wall and the horizontally extending thighs of a seated user's lap, there is only about five inches within which to situate a pouch.
In addition, in order to permit comfortable twisting of torso when turning while walking, it is advantageous to limit the horizontal width of the pouch, so that it remains generally flat and does not exceedingly bend, towards the medial pelvic area, especially for a woman where the pelvis is wider than a man's pelvis. Since most credit cards are less than four inches in width, and a typical passport is less than six inches in width when placed in a horizontal orientation, the size of the pouch should be limited to no more than six inches, preferably five inches, in horizontal width and no more than five inches, preferably four inches, in vertical height.
Since a collection a hotel key (either a traditional mechanical locking key or a flat electronic access key card), several credit cards, a health insurance card, photo identification and a passport together have a thickness when held together of less than one inch, it is desirable to wear a belt-worn pouch which is no more than one inch thick when full.